The French Dispatch

So, ladies and gentlemen, Donald Trump’s war on Iran is continue to splutter, with America having failed to remove the Iranian regime, inflaming tensions across the Middle East, and actively creating a scenario that is sending oil and gas prices skyrocketing.Not only this, but Donald Trump has managed to create a situation where he is now pushing to remove sanctions on Russia, and is actively berating European leaders for refusing his petulant demand for a third Gulf War.So I sat down with Dave Keating from Gulf Stream Blues so that we could chat about France’s role in leading the European rejections of Trumps demands, how the Europeans are all positioning themselves ahead of the upcoming Council summit, and what we can expect.We also talk about Macron’s strategic pivot as he reaches the end of his presidency, what we can expect from America, and why Donald Trump has genuinely pushed his so-called allies too far.Let us know what you think, and forgive our being sabotaged by the Substack Team’s recording studio, which has wrought untold havoc on our geopolitical opinions and caused a small delay in the audio.And if you want to check out my previous discussion following the opening salvo of the American-Iranian war, check out my video with Annelise Riles from Everyday Ambassador Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

So, as you may all have heard, the world is on fire right now, with Donald Trump having launched a war against the Iranian regime and Europeans having a messy and divided response to the intensifying crisis.Not only this, but French President Emmanuel Macron launched himself into an expansive review of the French nuclear doctrine, calling for an increase in the number of nuclear warheads, and an expansion of the French umbrella towards our European allies.Which is why I’m pleased that I finally got the chance to sit down with Professor Annelise Riles from Everyday Ambassador to break down exactly why this major situation is such a grave moment in modern history, what we’ve seen thus far, and where exactly we expect this to all go.Let us know what you think, and whether you’d like to see more conversations between us, and if you like what you heard from Annelise, give her substack a follow, she does excellent work and is well deserving of your time. Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

So, another European Council meeting has come along and caused a massive uproar, so what better time to run a Substack live to discuss the topic and go through the finer points of the meeting’s agenda.From Middle East diplomacy to European Security, to finally touching upon the topic of supporting Ukraine’s defensive war against a revanchist, imperialist Russia, we go through everything that happened in this discussion and what it means for Europe. Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

So, Zack Polanski, the leader of the British Green Party and prospective British Prime Minister, has declared that he will try to do what no one else has done before him: convince Russian President Vladimir Putin, known for his imperialism and revanchist foreign policy, to give up his Nuclear Weapons. Which is definitely not going to happen, so in the face of a lot of the reactions and questions I’ve had to this situation, here’s a quick reaction.As I mentioned in the video, please let me know what you think about this situation and if there’s a topic you’d like me to explore. Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

As you guys know, France has been going through a turbulent time, with a level of political instability that we haven’t seen since before World War Two, when the political instability led to us not being able to react to Nazi Germany and eventually being occupied.So, with the second Lecornu government now trying to push towards a budget of some kind, Dave Keating (Gulf Stream Blues) and I (the editor of your favourite newsletter, The French Dispatch) sat down to do a quick Q&A:We cover:* The nitty-gritty of the ongoing French political crisis* What chances Sébastien Lecornu and his government have of succeeding* How long Lecornu 2 will survive* The French budget procedure* What the chances of a French budget for 2026 are, and* How this will effect Europe.For the timeline of events leading up to today’s Substack live, check out the following explainers and videos in chronological order:As always, if you have any questions, drop them below, and otherwise, we hope you enjoyed the chat! Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

Took a quick break from my cold to give a (not-so-quick) update on the current French political situation, with a particular focus on:* Lecornu’s final negotiations* Upcoming legislative elections* The reason why Edouard Philippe wants Macron to resign* The strategies being deployed by French extremists* The current polling situationAs always, remember to like, subscribe, and if you enjoyed this, consider supporting The French Dispatch with a paid subscription! Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

Right, first of all: new format!Due to popular demand, I’ll be hosting a weekly European update, in the form of these Substack live sessions, starting today, where I’ll cover the biggest stories from the European Union and our continent.This week, we cover the Copenhagen meeting, and particularly:* The EU is putting its money where its mouth is on Ukraine, and EU defence and security* Europeans moving to cut red tape in defence and security* How Green goals have clashed with defence needs* The financial frameworks that could and are being mobilised to fund the future of European defence and EU Strategic Autonomy.Now, as I mentioned during the video, let me know what you think! I’m also open to turning this into a weekly Q&A to answer your key questions on European affairs and politics.And as always: don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share this post! Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

So we’re back, and no longer working on our holidays! Dave Keating and I sat down to talk about:* Trump’s royal visit* The horrors of American politics and Jimmy Kimmel being censored by the American government* What it could take to wake Europeans up from their American subservience* Von der Leyen’s State of the EU speech, and whether her calls for independence and courage mean anything when she’s not showing those things herself?* EU changing it’s stance on Israel Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

With Commission President Ursula von der Leyen having signed one of the worst trade deals I have ever seen, I sat down with Dave Keating from Gulf Stream Blues to dig into the EU’s latest “deal” with the US, and discussed why it’s absolutely not an FTA, no matter how it’s being spun.We go over:* What’s actually in the deal (spoiler: not much) and why calling it a “trade agreement” is misleading.* How US and EU interpretations are already diverging – with clear lessons from the UK’s post-Brexit experience.* Why the EU went along with it, what the real alternatives were, and the quiet but decisive role of Ursula von der Leyen (she could have led a resistance to this capitulation consensus … and didn’t).* Which countries pushed for this surrender (hello, Germany and Italy), Bayrou’s sharp comments from France, and whether Paris or the European Parliament could still block it.* And finally, the important question: does this deal permanently lock the EU into a position of subservience, or is there a way back? Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

* Did Ursula von der Leyen announce a geoeconomic and defence policy??* What’s going on with the EU-US trade war?* Will Von der Leyen ‘survive’ her confidence vote?* Should we want her to survive it?* What the hell happened to the Rassemblement National?If these are the questions you were asking yourself, then you’re in the right place! Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

Today I sat down with friend of the publication, Dave Keating from Gulf Stream Bluesto discuss the big stories of the past few weeks, including:* The on-off-on again US Tariff court rulings* The European Council blocking Spanish regional languages and giving Pedro Sanchez a political headache* Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban's Budapest pride ban, and the pathetically weak response from the Commission* And Ursula von der Leyen's Aachen speech on European geopolitics Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

On one of the most important days of the year, I sat down with friend of the publication, Dave Keating ( Gulf Stream Blues ), to discuss the big stories of the week, including:* Friedrich Merz’ two-round Bundeskanzler voting scandal, and who was to blame* How his relationship with Emmanuel Macron is looking* What is happening with the Weimar Triangle* What’s the story with the new pope? And was his election politicised?* And how can Europe tease academics and scientists to the European Union? Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

* Can “The French” finally lead Europe’s re-armament?* Are “The French” doing victory laps?* Will “The Europeans” be able to do without “The Americans” when it comes to security?* Are “The French” “Arrogant”?I had the great pleasure to sit with Dave Keating from Gulf Stream Blues today for a fun discussion regarding the new paradigm of European security, the impact of Donald Trump’s Presidency on European independence, and the level of influence the French are exerting right now as Europe does some serious soul-searching. Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

With the results of the 2024 Legislative Elections having come in last night, and with a dispatch in the works to show you what happened, I met up with the incredible Latika Bourke and Tristan de Bourbon Parme to discuss what happenedIn this quick and dirty podcast that we put together today, we talk about what happened last night, what political tactics worked and didn’t work, what the key bits of news from the election were, and where this could take us! Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

I had the great pleasure to be invited by Tim Sennett and Jennie to come and join them on the Mriya Report, a brilliant network that covers Ukrainian politics and how global events impact our future fellow member state.In a brilliant exchange with the audience, who had a lot of very interesting questions, we delved into :* 🇫🇷The French parliamentary election* 🇬🇧British parliamentary election* 🇪🇺EU politics* 🇭🇺The Hungarian Presidency of the Council* 🇺🇸The ongoing state of US politics* 🇺🇦And how all of this can, is, and will potentially impact Ukraine Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

With the first round of the 2024 Legislative Elections taking place today across France, I wanted to share with you all a great podcast that I did with the incredible Latike Bourke and Tristan de Bourbon Parme.In it, we have discussed what led us to our current situation, covering everything from the popularity of Emmanuel Macron, what exactly has pushed so much support to the RN, why people will likely vote the way they will, and how this could affect France in the future. Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe

So, did you catch the #SOTEU? What did you think? How do you feel about the direction of the EU? and did it even matter?Last week I sat down with my friend Simon van Hoeve who runs a fascinating podcast called The Brubble to talk about the State of the European Union Speech given by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, breaking down why this was a historic speech and a good sign of things to come.If you enjoyed this episode, please support Simon’s podcast! He’s a great guy, he’s doing some fun stuff, and we’re even considering working on a few fun projects together in the coming weeks.Here’s a link to his podcast on Spotify: and here’s a link to his show on Apple Podcasts: He’s also always looking for contributors, so if you want to get in touch with him, you can contact him through [email protected] or through his twitter account.Thank you for reading the French Dispatch! If you liked what you read please don’t hesitate to subscribe by clicking/tapping the button below:And if you’d like to contribute a coffee or two to help fuel my coverage of the wild world of politics, feel free to click on the picture below: Get full access to The French Dispatch at www.frenchdispatch.eu/subscribe